AI Nude Sites Are Targeting Women Politicians Across Europe
It's not just celebrities — fake explicit images are being used to silence women.
A new investigation has found that nearly 150 politicians in Europe — almost all of them women — have been named or pictured on websites that make fake, sexually explicit images. The research, seen by WIRED and published by the German think tank Agora Digitale Transformation, looked at roughly 160 sites and cross-checked them against more than 5,800 national lawmakers. At least 138 women members of parliament from 22 European Union countries turned up. Only nine men did.
What makes these sites unusual is that many don't need to host an explicit image at all. They simply list a politician's real name, official photo, and sometimes her social media accounts — then add a button linking to an app that digitally 'undresses' her. As the researcher behind the work, Benjamin Shultz, put it: in three clicks you can generate the image. That's just as harmful as posting it, he argues, because the page becomes a permanent doorway.
So what? Researchers say the goal isn't just humiliation — it's intimidation. When a woman in public life knows fake nude images of her are one search away, it changes how she behaves. Some MPs told the researchers they worry about future jobs. Others say it discourages women and girls from running for office at all. That's a loss for everyone: fewer women in politics means decisions get made from a narrower point of view.
Deepfake technology appeared around 2017. Since then it has become cheaper, faster, and far more realistic, and the overwhelming majority of nonconsensual images are made by men and boys. Victims currently have few tools: takedown requests are slow, and copied images resurface elsewhere. The Dutch MP Suzanne Kröger called the findings 'really deeply disturbing,' adding that millions of ordinary women face the same crime with none of a politician's platform to speak out.
- At least 138 women lawmakers from 22 EU countries were targeted, versus just 9 men — women were 33 times more likely to appear.
- Some sites don't post explicit images at all; they list a real name and photo next to a link that generates a fake nude in about three clicks.
- The more senior a politician is, the more likely she was targeted — and researchers say the abuse pushes women out of public life.
Why It Matters
Fake explicit images can end careers and push women out of public life — and the tools keep getting easier to use.